Paw fight - Hughie Fury sends out yet another jab as Joseph Parker misses with another right. Photo/Photosport
Paw fight - Hughie Fury sends out yet another jab as Joseph Parker misses with another right. Photo/Photosport
The reviews are in, and the world's boxing websites are unimpressed with the Joseph Parker v Hughie Fury WBO heavyweight clash. They are also united in believing Parker won't unify the divison.
Tom Gray (the Ring) Parker, who is rated No. 5 by The Ring at heavyweight, looked lacklustre for most of the 12 rounds and Fury was on his bike throughout. As a result, the fight failed to deliver and the Manchester crowd had little reason to get excited.
Fury was attempting to win with ring generalship and movement. There was little in the way of clean, effective punching from either side, but Parker's shots carried more weight and when he did land flush, he made a strong physical impression.
The 25-year-old boxer-puncher has plenty of physical tools but he switches off in fights as evidenced by his awful showing against late-replacement Razvan Cojanu in May. This performance was also unconvincing.
Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder, should they win their upcoming fights, could be lucrative options going forward. Parker, however, must refine his game if he is to be given a serious chance of defeating either man.
Robert Ecksel (Boxing.com) It was a lacklustre fight by most accounts. Neither fighter nor performance was of championship calibre.
But when one judge had it a draw and two judges thought it was a wipeout, it's impossible to know where to begin or where it might possibly end.
Both men were careful to a fault. Hughie used his height and speed to his advantage. Fighting behind the jab, he was landing on the outside, just enough to steal some rounds. Parker landed some shots of his own amidst the lunging, but nothing one could mistake as being meaningful.
I seriously doubt that Anthony Joshua will lose any sleep at the prospect of fighting either man.
Fightnews.com The elusive Fury used movement and a flicking jab to keep Parker at bay. Parker tried to get inside with limited success and didn't cut off the ring well. Neither fighter landed many big shots in a rather disappointing contest. Judges awarded Parker's aggressiveness over Fury's backpedalling.
BoxingScene.com The scoring reflected the wildly split opinions at ringside with Parker's ponderous front-foot action contrasting with Fury's bid to claim the title on the back foot.
Parker continued to land the most eye-catching efforts and despite the Fury camp's vehement complaints to the contrary, it was hard to argue with the New Zealander retaining his title after a largely forgettable contest.... Fury was not quite busy enough to win the title after a bout which will hardly have Anthony Joshua losing any sleep.
ESPN Boxing Fury's movement around the ring had left Parker looking nervous as the scores were about to be announced. Parker was unable to land any clean or powerful blows to trouble Fury, of England, in a messy and dreary fight.
Nevertheless, it was a win that silenced Fury's home crowd and also improved Parker's hopes of fighting one of the big names in the division.
John P. Raspanti (maxboxing.com) The thinking before the bout was that Fury would use his legs and box-while Parker would chase after him. The theory was sound, though the action was limited.
Hollow victory - the critics were unimpressed with Joseph Parker. Photo/Photosport
Matt Christie (boxingnewsonline) ...the challenger always producing the classier work. Out of the ring since April last year, Fury opened exceptionally sharply. On his toes and pinging out his jab, he made Parker look clumsy as the New Zealander swung and missed with alarming regularity.
The feeling at the end was that Hughie's superior skillset had done enough and, at the final bell, Fury instinctively threw his arms into the air while Parker needed more persuasion to celebrate.
In the end, though, it was Parker who retained his title but again failed to impress.
